A well-managed urbanisation will represent a concrete opportunity for Mozambique to increase investments in cities, creating jobs and accommodating in a sustainable manner the rapid population growth.

Due to a request from the Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources (MOPHRH), UN-Habitat Mozambique prepared a National Urban Policy (NUP) Foundation document to support the fundraising for the required amount to develop a full NUP. The NUP Foundation highlights the need of a well-managed urban development in Mozambique while the country is still in the beginning of the urbanization process.

Currently, roughly 30% of Mozambique is urban. However, by 2050 the urban population share will hit 50% of the total population. Cities are growing beyond their administrative borders. The preliminary Census 2017 results indicates that smaller cities and metropolitan areas are growing at a faster pace than bigger cities as Maputo. Therefore, there is an urgent need to address planning foreseeing: the future urban growth, the joint urban planning between cities and districts that grow beyond borders, and the new urban and peri urban needs.

The NUP Foundation was welcomed by the Ministry of MOPHRH. Due to UN-Habitat advocacy, other UN Agencies and Programmes are interested in preparing joint programmes in order to address urban issues from different perspectives in Mozambique.